Taj Mahal removed from tourism booklet by Uttar Pardesh govt

The Taj Mahal has been controversially excluded from an Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet.

Based on BBC, the booklet, issued by the tourism division, was not supposed to be a promotional brochure, however the omission of one of many seven wonders of the trendy world has nonetheless sparked anger and bemusement.

Journalists, politicians and activists have been amongst those that took to social media to decry the 17th Century mausoleum’s absence.

The favored vacationer attraction, positioned within the Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, has been talked about on Twitter greater than 12,000 instances within the final 24 hours.

The booklet has been launched six months into Hindu nationalist Yogi Adityanath’s tenure as chief minister of India’s most populous state.

It particulars ongoing and future tourism initiatives and mentions various well-known vacationer locations, together with a temple in Gorakhpur the place Mr Adityanath is the primary priest.

However Mr Adityanath’s views on the Taj Mahal have beforehand been questioned. In June, he reportedly stated the monument “didn’t mirror Indian tradition”.

The Taj Mahal was constructed by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in reminiscence of his favorite spouse Mumtaz Mahal.

“The booklet was launched just for the needs of a press convention and isn’t a information to Uttar Pradesh’s tourism spots,” he instructed ZariNews. “It mentions new and upcoming initiatives of the Uttar Pradesh tourism division, and new focus areas.”

In a sequence of tweets, the official Utter Pradesh authorities account claimed that cash has additionally been put aside to fund improvement proposals for the Taj Mahal.